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Interior Design Professor Earns Best in Show

Dr. Selena Nawrocki grew up in a home built by artistic parents.
Handcrafted furniture and stained glass windows framed her view of
the world and continue to inspire her to push the boundaries of
dimensional composition. The interior design professor's works have
garnered dozens of awards at more than 100 international, national
and regional art competitions.

"I utilize interior design computer software to create collage
compositions that feature stairways as a major reoccurring focal
point," said Nawrocki, who has taught at VSU since 2001. "My mixed
media art is printed on a transparent field which, when framed,
consists of multi-paneled straight and curved exterior
silhouettes."

This past spring, Nawrocki's won Best of Show during the San Diego
Art Institute/Museum of the Living Artist's 51st International
Exhibition. "Rotary Steps" beat out nearly 700 entries in the
competition designed to support the visual arts through exhibition,
education and outreach. Her mixed media composition "Facets"
garnered First Place - Best in Show at the Art and Design Society's
19th Southeast Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition at the
Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.

"'Facets' was inspired by a diamond ring and consists of a single
inverted triangle as the major shape supported by six leaves," said
Nawrocki, who earned a doctorate from Mississippi State University.
"With five angular triangles and two curvilinear shapes, the work
possesses both masculine and feminine qualities. In Eastern
cultures, odd numbers are considered masculine while even numbers
are though of as feminine."

As a result of the award, the gallery will showcase her work during
a 2012 regional exhibition. Nawrocki said she pushes herself to
create new art and enter competitions so that she can continue to
grow and stay current with the latest artistic patterns and
methods. Her success, Nawrocki said, is passed down to and
exemplified through her students.